The Trump campaign on Friday released 10 years of running mate Mike Pence’s tax returns, covering the years 2006 through 2015. No tax information has yet been released regarding the Republican presidential candidate himself.
The Indiana governor’s latest tax filings show that in 2015 he paid an effective tax rate of 12.4% – the second-lowest tax rate of the past decade for the governor and his family – on an income of $113,026. Pence donated $8,923 to charity, almost equal to the $8,956 he paid in federal income tax.
“The Pence family has been honored to serve their state and their nation for the past 16 years, while raising three great children and putting them through college,” Marc Lotter, Pence’s press secretary, said in a statement.
“These tax returns clearly show that Mike and Karen Pence have paid their taxes, supported worthy causes, and, unlike the Clintons, the Pences have not profited from their years in public service.”
Hillary Clinton, the Democratic presidential nominee, released her 2015 personal tax return in August, as well as that of running mate Tim Kaine and his wife, Anne Holton, who released 10 years of their returns.
Those figures showed that Hillary and former president Bill Clinton earned nearly $11m in 2015, paying an effective federal income tax rate of 34.2%. Adding effective state and local income tax at 9%, the couple’s tax rate totaled 43.2%. The Clintons donated $1,042,000, or 9.8%, of their adjusted gross income to charity.
Hillary Clinton has released tax records dating back to 1977. Last weekend, announcing the impending release of his own records, Pence said: “I’ll release mine in the next week. Donald Trump will be releasing his tax returns at the completion of an audit.”
There is no rule compelling presidential candidates to release their tax records, nor is there any rule that says records that are being audited cannot be released. In 1973, Richard Nixon released his tax returns while they were under audit.
Also revealed in the latest tax filings was Karen Pence’s unsuccessful stint as a small business owner. That’s My Towel Charm, which sells markers meant to ensure that bathers do not confuse their towels, lost $3,407 last year.
